26-year-old Luigi Mangione

In United States’ courts, defendants are innocent until proven guilty, and the burden of proof lies with the prosecution. This is critical to people’s right to a fair trial. But for Luigi Mangione, the scales of justice have already been tipped.

It is not only the media prejudicing public opinion. When extradited to New York, Mangione was met by a full force of federal and state law enforcement and paraded in handcuffs while cameras captured his every step. Following closely behind was New York Mayor Eric Adams. “I wanted to send a strong message with the police commissioner that we’re leading from the front. I’m not going to just allow him to come into our city,” Adams said during an interview with PIX11 News.

Mayor Eric Adams "leading from the front"

Luigi Mangione and his attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo

At a hearing, Mangione’s attorney, Karen Agnifilo, said in response “there was no reason for the NYPD and everybody to have these big assault rifles, that frankly, I had no idea was in their arsenal ― and to have all of this press there. And what was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference? That just made it utterly political.”

Murder as an Act of Terrorism?

In New York, state prosecutors raised eyebrows in charging Mangione with murder “in furtherance of an act of terrorism.” According to the New York Penal Code, this means the defendant acted “with intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government.” As critics of the terrorism charge have noted, a health insurance CEO is not affiliated with the government. The suggestion that a multi billion-dollar corporation is an arm of government is troubling.

Threat of the Death Penalty

According to the New York Post, health insurance industry leaders leaned on the Department of Justice to bring federal charges against Luigi Mangione in order to make an example of him: “one source told The Post that it came from the top of the DOJ in Washington, DC.” These charges carry harsher punishments, which for the 26-year-old who has no prior criminal record, could mean the death penalty.

With 20 charges stretched across three jurisdictions, Mangione is being tried simultaneously in state and federal court. The unusual application of terrorism charges and looming threat of the death penalty are evidence of a system that selectively flexes its power to defend corporate interests. With the mass media consistently framing him as guilty and undermining his right to a fair trial, he faces an uphill legal battle.